“You think so?” Daisy asked.
“I’ve known him nearly all my life. He seldom says anything. So quiet. But lately, all he talks about is someone named Daisy.” Valerie gave her a questioning look.
Ken’s face swam through her mind. Her heartbeat accelerated slightly. A soft smile came unbidden to her lips. “Ken is a wonderful man. He makes me happy.”
They hugged, and Valerie stepped back. “I am going to go clean up and see how the painting went today. I will see you ladies in a couple of hours.”
As Valerie walked away, Daisy noticed a slight limp, and it puzzled her. She suspected that would be an entirely different conversation one day. Daisy turned to Irene. “I think we’re ready. You did an amazing job with this one, Irene.”
She dismissively waved her hand. “Actually, Calla did most of the work. It gave me more time to really focus on getting good donations.”
Calla came back out of the kitchen. She’d changed out of the T-shirt and shorts she’d worn earlier and now wore a black chef shirt and striped gray pants. She had her hair pulled up behind her head and tucked into a black engineer’s cap. “You all set for tonight?”
Daisy looked at her and said, “I should be asking you that.”
The chef waved her hand in dismissal. “Are you kidding me? This will be nothing compared to a full house and my full menu. Three entrée choices will be a walk in the park.”
Daisy grinned. “I can’t imagine the organization that goes into your kitchen.”
“It is certainly not something everyone can do.” She looked at her watch. “I am going to let my staff go and get ready for tonight. What time will you be back?”
Irene interjected. “I live in Marietta, so I am here.” Daisy had offered to let her come home with her and relax before the event, but Irene had set up a portable workstation at one of the restaurant tables and planned to work for the afternoon.
“I should be back by five-thirty.” Daisy checked her watch. That gave her about an hour and a half to get ready. “Thank you again for tonight.”
“It’s my pleasure. My husband and I chose to continue to live in the States so we can raise money for missions. Otherwise, we would be out in the field full-time.”
Daisy left them and walked out into the hot Georgia sunshine. She raised her face to the sun and soaked in the heat of the rays while she stood on the sidewalk. She loved late July weather. Hot sunlight dried the red clay. Afternoon storms rushed in with fury and left the earth washed clean. Then the hot sun steam cleaned the streets again. She loved the humidity and the way the pine trees smelled in the summer sun.
At home, she changed into a pale pink skirt and a white blouse covered in red and pink flowers. She shifted back and forth in front of the mirror, trying to decide if she could detect the thickening of her center. When she untucked the shirt, it looked sloppy and wrong. When she tucked it in, she could see the slightest baby bump.
Maybe you should change into a different outfit. Or you could tell Ken the truth like you promised you would the next time you saw him.
Just then, a text came from Ken.
Looking forward to seeing you tonight.
A scared empty feeling formed a hole in her stomach. She ran her hand over her belly and decided to quit acting so paranoid. No one could tell anything yet. Especially if they didn’t know.
Likewise. I’ve missed you the last couple of days.
After pulling her hair up and twisting it into a simple knot on the back of her head, she freshened her makeup and applied pink lip gloss that matched the accents in the flowers in her shirt. She grabbed her nude-colored heels and her tablet that contained all the big donor names and information.
She stopped at her kitchen table and set everything on it, then sat on a chair and bowed her head. “God, thank You for the way You have blessed Gálatas Seis. I know You’ve taken my grandfather’s vision and added to it in ways that I can’t even see yet. I know You brought Ken into my life right now for a reason. God? Can You please start preparing his heart for my news?”
She felt like a burden lifted immediately from her shoulder blades. Maybe instead of panicking about it for the last month, she ought to have just prayed in the first place.
She slipped the shoes onto her feet, gathered everything she needed, and then headed back to the restaurant. By the time she got back there, the two valets she had hired had set up their stand in front of the drive. A uniformed valet opened her door and handed her up out of her car. She reached into the back seat and retrieved her tablet and purse. “Good evening. I will be here until way past the very end, so you can plant my car way in the back.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Delicious, tempting smells assailed her when she entered the restaurant. She stopped for a moment, closed her eyes, and just thought about all the people who would walk through those doors with this very smell to greet them. When she stepped all the way inside, she spotted Calla and Irene at the drink table. She headed in their direction.
“Hello, ladies.” She looked around but didn’t see anything different from how she left it a couple of hours earlier. “Anything needing to be done?”
Calla turned toward her, and she could see anger flashing in the edges of her eyes. “Did we ever discuss specific drinks?”
“I am positive that we did,” said Irene. “I can’t imagine that I did not.”
